Background: During the last several years, many governmental and nongovernmental organizations have championed the application of the principles of quality improvement to the practice of medicine, particularly in the area of critical care.
Objective: To review the breadth of approaches to quality improvement in the intensive care unit, including measures such as mortality and length of stay, and the use of protocols, bundles, and the role of large, multiple-hospital collaboratives.
Results: Several agencies have participated in the application of the quality movement to medicine, culminating in the development of standards such as the intensive care unit core measures of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Although "zero defects" may not be possible in all measurable variables of quality in the intensive care unit, several measures, such as catheter-related bloodstream infections, can be significantly reduced through the implementation of improved processes of care, such as care bundles. Large, multiple-center, quality improvement collaboratives, such as the Michigan Keystone Intensive Care Unit Project, may be particularly effective in improving the quality of care by creating a "bandwagon effect" within a geographic region.
Conclusion: The quality revolution is having a significant effect in the critical care unit and is likely to be facilitated by the transition to the electronic medical record.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.CCM.0000252914.22497.44 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Right Ventricular Injury Definition and Management in Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.
ASAIO J
January 2025
From the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
Right ventricular injury (RVI) in respiratory failure receiving veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV ECMO) is associated with significant mortality. A scoping review is necessary to map the current literature and guide future research regarding the definition and management of RVI in patients receiving VV ECMO. We searched for relevant publications on RVI in patients receiving VV ECMO in Medline, EMBASE, and Web of Science.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStatus of Sepsis Care in European Hospitals: Results from an International Cross-Sectional Survey.
Am J Respir Crit Care Med
January 2025
University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila Bucharest, Bucuresti, Romania.
Rationale: Early detection, standardized therapy, adequate infrastructure and strategies for quality improvement should constitute essential components of every hospital's sepsis plan.
Objectives: To investigate the extent to which recommendations from the sepsis guidelines are implemented and the availability of infrastructure for the care of patients with sepsis in acute hospitals.
Methods: A multidisciplinary cross-sectional questionnaire was used to investigate sepsis care in hospitals.
Contribution of Open Access Databases to Intensive Care Medicine Research: Scoping Review.
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, CHU Rouen, Rouen, France.
Background: Intensive care units (ICUs) handle the most critical patients with a high risk of mortality. Due to those conditions, close monitoring is necessary and therefore, a large volume of data is collected. Collaborative ventures have enabled the emergence of large open access databases, leading to numerous publications in the field.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStandardized Outcomes for Randomized Controlled Trials Targeting Early Interventions in Patients With Moderate-to-Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Protocol for the Development of a Core Outcome Set.
JMIR Res Protoc
January 2025
INSERM, Methods in Patient-Centered Outcomes and Health Research, SPHERE, F-44000, Nantes Université, University of Tours, Nantes, France.
Background: : With more than 60 million new cases around the world each year, traumatic brain injury (TBI) causes substantial mortality and morbidity. Managing TBI is a major human, social, and economic concern. In the last 20 years, there has been an increase in clinical trials in neurocritical care, leading mostly to negative results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndocrinologic Dysfunctions and Neuropsychiatric Sequelae in Pediatric Patients With a History of Central Nervous System Infection (ENDLESS): A Prospective Monocentric Study.
Pediatr Infect Dis J
December 2024
From the Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.
Introduction: Central nervous system (CNS) infections represent some of the most critical pediatric health challenges, characterized by high mortality rates and a notable risk of long-term complications. Despite their significance, standardized guidelines for endocrinological follow-up of CNS infection survivors are lacking, leading to reliance on the expertise of individual centers and clinicians.
Materials And Methods: Prospective monocentric observational study conducted at the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli in Rome, Italy.
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!